As high school students think about their future career and plan for summer internships, Bank of America’s Student Leaders program is a great option for teens who want to gain early experience and the tools and resources to join the workforce.
The program helps students make a direct impact in the neighborhoods and communities where they live. It is geared toward high school juniors and seniors.
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“It prepares really just a diverse pipeline of community focused youth. Coming up, this would be 20 years of the program, actually. We started in 2004 with about 300 community-focused juniors and seniors across the country every year,” said Geordan Coleman, vice president market executive for Bank of America.
“This helps them gain any kind of workforce skills, their leadership potential and also they get to connect with other peers in their networks.”
Bank of American Student Leaders program
He said the company increased its commitment to summer youth employment along with the Bank of America Student Leaders program in 2010.
Applications are now open through Jan. 17, 2024, for Students Leaders in Indianapolis.
Bank of America Student Leaders will work as paid interns at a local nonprofit. The program is for eight weeks and will earn $17 an hour working 35 hours a week.
Student Leaders also receive an all-expenses paid weeklong trip to the Student Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C. from July 22-27.
In 2023, three Central Indiana students worked at Christamore House, a family and community center on the Near Westside.
The Student Leaders planned a summer resource fair for members of the community. They assisted with case management for families seeking services and supervised and mentored youth enrolled in summer programming.
Jasmin Walker, current IUPUI student, spent summer 2023 at the Christamore House.
“I actually had been working with the 100 Black Men for a couple of years, and I did multiple financial literacy competitions. A leader of the competition sent me an email asking me if I was interested in filling out the application to become a Student Leader,” said Walker.
“Our job there was to be social workers. Clients would come in, and we’d help them with either rent, or utilities, or the diaper pantry; if they needed help with diapers, wipes or anything with childcare.”
Apply by Jan. 17, 2024
Walker said they also helped with after and early care, the boxing club for kids and food drives put on by the Christamore House.
Even after the program, she came back to work there part time because she thoroughly enjoyed her experience.
“This program really helped me see how different people live and different people’s experiences. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what a community center was or did before that point. I was stuck in my own bubble and world and never thought about it before,” said Walker.
She is currently in school for health care administration with the goal of becoming the CFO of a hospital someday. Her experience with real people every day helped her prepare realistically for her dreams.
Tim Adams, a Morehouse College freshman majoring in computer science, found out about the program during his senior year of high school. His 100 Black Men mentor told him about it and he participated in the summer 2023 cohort.
“We would work with people in the Haughville community and assist them with financial matters and social matters. I really learned social skills and working with people of different backgrounds. It was a great experience,” said Adams.
Contact staff writer Jade Jackson at (317) 762-7853 or by email JadeJ@IndyRecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
